Bi-directional relations between attention and social fear across the first two years of life

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Updated: Aug 30, 2025

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
08:25

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults

Published on: October 19, 2014

15.4K

Laura Bierstedt1, Lori B Reider1, Jessica L Burris1

  • 1Rutgers University, Newark, USA.

Infant Behavior & Development
|August 26, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Infant social fear and attention biases interact early in life, suggesting potential for timely interventions. This longitudinal study highlights the bidirectional relationship between attention to emotional cues and social fear development in the first two years.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Child Psychiatry

Background:

  • Early life social fear is a precursor to later anxiety disorders.
  • Attention biases towards emotional stimuli are implicated in social fear.
  • Understanding the developmental interplay between attention and social fear is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine longitudinal associations between attention and social fear in infants.
  • To investigate the directionality of relations between attention biases and social fear.
  • To identify the developmental timing of these interactions.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study with 357 infants and caregivers across 5 assessments (4-24 months).
  • Eye-tracking tasks (Vigilance, Overlap) measured attention bias components (orientation, engagement, disengagement).
  • Parent-reported temperament and social fear questionnaires (IBQ-R, TBAQ) were utilized.

Main Results:

  • A random intercept cross-lagged panel model revealed intermittent uni-directional and reciprocal relations.
  • Attention to threatening and positive emotion facial configurations showed links with social fear.
  • Interactions between social fear and attention biases emerged within the first year of life.

Conclusions:

  • Behaviorally inhibited temperament, specifically social fear, interacts with attention biases to emotion early in development.
  • Findings suggest a dynamic interplay influencing the trajectory of social fear.
  • Implications for early intervention timing to mitigate maladaptive attention patterns are discussed.

Keywords:
Attention to threatEye-trackingSocial fearTemperament

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